It is common practice within the games of baseball and softball to bunt, or more specifically, square the body toward the pitcher and use the baseball bat to dampen the rebound trajectory of the batted ball in a forward motion toward the pitcher. The art of bunting requires that while batting, the top hand be slid to a position near the barrel of the bat for the purpose of control. If the top hand is incorrectly positioned, the art and control of bunting is sacrificed.
To bunt a ball means having direct contact between a pitched ball and the ball bat in such a manner as to dampen, or absorb, the kinetic energy of the pitched ball by the action of the bat so as to have minimal rebound of the ball into the field of play. This is a physical event which requires proper hand-eye coordination, precise skill and controlled touch of the bat to the pitched ball. Additionally, the art of bunting requires being able to control the direction of the bunted ball either toward the pitcher, or toward either the first or third base foul lines. In summary, the art of bunting is about controlling the rebound location of a pitched ball with the ball bat.
While bunting a ball, the top hand is slid from the handle location (or grip) to the barrel portion of the bat. The hand is positioned such that the thumb and forefinger are formed to positively receive the convex curvature of the bat. This positioning of the hand tends to promote the feeling of leaving the remaining fingers on the top hand vulnerable to exposure of the pitched ball, and thus the possibility of being hit by the pitched ball. For younger players, and others first learning the art of bunting, this aspect can be intimidating and instill fear in the batter from their hand being hit by the pitched ball. This fear can cause the batter to position their top hand closer to the handle of the bat than the barrel, causing improper position and lack of bat control. In addition to being concerned about being hit by the pitched ball, the act of training the body for specialized events such as bunting a ball requires constant training and muscle memory exercises such that in a real-time, fast-paced game situation, the natural actions of the mind and body are instinctive. To instill this level of natural mind and body instinct, discipline of the top hand position must be mastered.
There is not a commercially available solution for these problems for bunt training. Common practice of training batters in the art of bunting, especially youth in Little League®, is to demonstrate the bunting technique during instructional drills such as soft-toss and live batting practice. While these are techniques and practice methods which positively benefit the learner, a method and apparatus to support proper learning is needed.
The present invention satisfies the following objectives:                provides a means of quickly and easily attaching a training apparatus to a baseball or softball bat;        provides means of an apparatus to protect the top hand and fingers from being hit with a pitched baseball or softball while practicing the art of bunting;        provides means of an apparatus to properly locate the top hand at a position to provide the optimum portion of the barrel of the bat to be used for bunting;        provides a method of protecting the top hand and fingers from being hit by a pitched ball while bunting;        provides a method of properly locating the top hand position while practicing the art of bunting; and        provides an apparatus and method of directly promoting brand awareness for a company within the baseball/softball market space by utilizing the invention for space to locate an industry-related company logo.        